Avengers of the Faith

By Angelica Hickerson

Meet the Avengers, six of Earth’s mightiest heroes, each with a particular skill set and worldview. Their task is to defeat the world’s greatest threat. Instead of using their combined intellect and strength to take control of the situation, however, they wage war among themselves. The legitimate threat is moved to the back burner.

In the midst of this bickering and indecisiveness, Loki, the malicious antagonist of the story, asks a simple yet powerful question: “How will your friends have time for me when they’re so busy fighting you?”

How can we worry about the true enemy when we are far too focused on fighting one another? How can we fight the bad if our priorities are not a reflection of the good?

Whether it’s an organization, an educational institution, a church, a government or an individual, prioritization is important. To quote Matthew’s gospel, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our actions reveal our focus.

This concept especially goes for educational institutions. While no school is perfect, every compromise comes with a cost. Are priorities straight when a Christian college cancels all activities in celebration of a civil rights leader – however great he may be – but does not do so for a sacred day celebrating their own King?

At the same time, we as individual students tend to direct all of our efforts to other tasks such as homework, Spring Sing and sleep (not necessarily in that order). They aren’t inherently bad concerns in and of themselves, but notice what is missing: faith, family and friends. The three most important things are set aside.

Are your priorities straight when you watch Netflix until 4 a.m. but don’t spend an hour reading the Bible? What does it say about your values when you say you don’t have time to call your parents but you take a nap between every class period?

The Avengers are a group of completely different men and women with completely different strengths. In the words of Thor, they practically “courted chaos.” It was only when the group realized they needed to rearrange their priorities that they were able to accomplish their goal.

The church also comprises many different people who have many different opinions, but the “chaos” created by differences is a strength given to the church by God. If we see others through the eyes and purpose of God, we eliminate the distractions and set our priorities in the hands of God.

So how can we set ourselves on the right path? Simple: just like the Avengers, we must arm ourselves.

Thor’s hammer, Stark’s suit and the Captain’s shield protect them in their fight against the enemy. Even so, they don’t compare to the armor that God has given us. Ephesians chapter 6 says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”

We are given a belt of truth, so that we may be honest with ourselves; a breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart against idols; a pair of shoes that enable us to stand firm in the peace that we have found in Christ; a shield, so that we may guard against the flaming arrows of the enemy; a helmet to protect our minds and keep our focus on the salvation that we have been given; and finally, a sword, so that we may not idly stand by, but fight for our faith.

Your journey will be different than mine, but as Christians, we are burdened with the same glorious purpose: to “go into all the world proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, baptizing others in order that they may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We have been given the equipment to keep our priorities straight. So put on the suit.

Angelica Hickerson is a senior at Oklahoma Christian University. 

The opinions of guest columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Talon or Oklahoma Christian University. Guest opinions are presented to foster public debate on important topics and comments should be respectful and signed.

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